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How advantageous is it for the workforce to reform the HR functions connected to the recruitment cycle to better accommodate autistic workers?

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Can organisational psychological theories be applied to autistic workers?
What changes need to be made when accommodating an autistic employee?
How can the discrimination against autistic workers be minimised?
How inclusive are HR practices and functions for autistic people?
How can HR practices and functions be made inclusive for autistic workers?

Costs and Benefits of ND inclusion in the workplace

autistic and allistic hr functions costs vs benefits

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- hr functions autistic vs allistic

- good practices

- accomodations: support services, success strategies, enhancing training strategies

- employment discrimination - employment programs, employers and employees perspective (both autistic and allistic)

- diversity climate: inclusion of autistic workers, costs and benefits of employing autistic workers

- Hungarian practices vs foreign

microsoft, sap, willis towers watson - hiring initiatives

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https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hyondong-Kim/publication/283152033_strategicHR/links/562d031b08ae04c2aeb4a044/strategicHR.pdf

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In 2023, HR departments have shifted their focus from the future of work to the now of work. Many HR practices established during the COVID-19 pandemic (which forever changed our working lives) have accelerated, forcing companies to rethink HR best practices-and plan for a quickly changing future.

Companies that embrace HR best practices see better morale, improved productivity, and increased employee retention. According to an extensive study by Oxford University, happy employees are 13% more productive than unhappy employees. For employees in sales, boosting happiness can increase closed deals by 37%.

As a strategic leader at your organization, it's up to you to align HR goals with the overall business goals so everyone is on the same page.

BambooHR assists 30,000+ companies implement HR best practices at scale. Our award-winning, intuitive software makes it simple to modernize hiring, onboarding, compensation, and more--regardless of your organization's size, location, or industry. Take a video tour today!

HR Best Practices vs. HR Activities: What's the Difference?

Before diving in, it's important to clarify the distinction between HR practices and HR activities. Both are needed for an HR department to fully reach its potential and for an organization to optimize its human capital investment.

HR best practices involve the strategic operations of HR. They form the foundation and guidance for managing the company's employees and should coordinate with the executive business plan. Some examples of HR practices include:

Setting the mission and goals of the HR department

Planning, organizing, and managing the HR department

Measuring the effects of programs

In contrast, HR activities are the daily activities to implement the strategies determined by HR practices. They allow the mission and goals of the HR department to be carried out. HR activities may include:

Payroll

Surveys

Recruitment and selection

Training and development

Compensation and benefits

Employee and labor relations

Retention

Safety and health

Employee attendance and time off

Overtime

Essentially, HR practices look at what an organization wants to do and why; HR activities address how.

When HR practices and HR activities are aligned, HR departments can thrive, and your company benefits. Optimum human resources involve an understanding and integrated approach to HR practices and HR activities.

The 9 Most Important HR Best Practices

1. Invest in the Right Technology

Choosing HR technology for your business is like shopping for a new smartphone. You likely put some time and consideration into what you'll use the phone for, what features you want, and how much you'd like to spend on it. Essentially, you're going to make sure the phone you purchase aligns with your specific needs. The same principle applies to choosing HR technology. You'll want to ensure the technology you choose aligns with your specific HR and business needs.

For example, say you're looking to reduce employee onboarding time by 25% over the next year. You'd like to maximize your training time by creating a "one-stop-shop" for new employees, ensuring easy access to training, company resources, and more. You should then focus your search for HR technology on platforms with a seamless onboarding experience and a centralized document hub.

Once you've determined your primary requirements, you'll want to ensure the platform includes standard HR features, such as:

Payroll

Reporting and analytics

Employee records

Workflows and approvals

E-signatures

Applicant tracking system

On and offboarding

Time tracking

Employee satisfaction

Performance management

Finally, you'll want to ensure your HR technology not only helps your HR department but your employees as well. BambooHR provides everything HR personnel need to complete daily tasks and empowers employees to help themselves via the intuitive dashboard and easy access to helpful resources. BambooHR's unique focus on assisting HR teams and employees makes our suite of HR tools different (and more effective) than other platforms.

2. Streamline Recruitment and Hiring

Companies seeking to hire high-performers are turning to innovative processes to streamline hiring.

There are many ways to assess whether someone will be a good fit for the company, both as a high-performer and as a cultural fit. While not every innovative hiring process will be right for your team, you can learn from companies that have created HR best practices around hiring and provided data for the rest of us.

Here are a few examples of best practices to consider:

When posting the perfect job ad, include information about your organization-what technology you use, what kind of products you create, your mission and vision, and more. Including this contextual information can encourage more candidates who believe in your organization's mission to apply. The best candidates can always learn additional skills; you want employees who will be engaged from day one.

3. Offer Effective Onboarding, Training, and Development

You've taken the time to find employees to hire, but your responsibility to them is only just beginning.

It's an HR best practice to invest in training and development opportunities to improve your current workforce, focus on skill-specific training, and realize the value that young workers place on learning. As industries advance at an ever-increasing pace, you can support and encourage your employees to grow as well, keeping them more engaged in their work and your organization.

Focus on skill-specific training: You might have a great general training program, but if you focus on teaching skills that don't align with work requirements or company objectives, you are wasting time and money.

4. Handle Layoffs With Compassion

This is probably the toughest place to implement HR best practices because it will always be difficult for those involved―and it's becoming an increasingly more regular practice. According to Forbes, 136,000 employees were laid off during the first fiscal quarter of 2023. Roughly 50% of employers anticipate a reduced headcount in the next six months.

As organizations prepare for these situations, it's crucial to follow HR best practices. These include learning from employees terminating their employment and understanding which topics are sensitive for legal reasons. Issues that may warrant termination should always be addressed before they reach a boiling point. However, when it does come to terminating an employee, don't drag out the decision.

Conduct an effective exit interview: One of the best practices for HR professionals when going through the termination process (whether voluntary or involuntary) for an employee is to conduct an effective exit interview. A good exit interview can emphasize things the organization does well and things they could improve upon. Exit interviews should be conducted face-to-face, if possible; otherwise, send a survey and try to follow up on the results in person. You don't want to make the exit interview feel stiff. Rather, you are trying to ask strategic exit interview questions that help the company retain people in the future.

As you implement these HR practices, you may discover that employees who leave soon after being hired did not have a good indication of what the job entailed when they were hired, and you might consider revamping your hiring process.

5. Build an Inclusive Company Culture

A crucial HR practice is to maintain transparency and be open with employees regarding the successes and failures of the business. Organizations that foster an environment of open feedback and communication help employees feel trusted, respected, and valued.

To be a high-impact HR department, you should:

As an HR department, you should avoid focusing on efficiency and cutting costs above all else, as this could actually be less effective in the long run. Instead, promote practices that create transparent environments and encourage information sharing.

6. Offer Compelling Benefits

According to a BambooHR survey, 68% of job seekers want information about the specific benefits companies offer, yet 36% of organizations report they don't offer information about their benefit plan upfront. Being transparent about your benefit plan and how it accomplishes company goals helps retain great employees and attract high-quality talent.

While Google's approach certainly isn't feasible for all companies, it is important to identify where you're losing money and why you might struggle with employee retention. If you want to hire and keep the best talent, you have to treat them like they're the best talent and show you value your employees.

7. Motivate Employees With the Right Incentives

According to Gallup, 18% of employees were actively disengaged at work during 2022. To combat disengagement rates, employers need to find more effective ways to motivate employees. That starts by offering more incentives. However, for incentives to be effective, you must first understand the type of incentives employees want. You'll then need to implement new practices properly, or you risk demotivating your employees instead of motivating them. Here are some HR best practices for providing effective employee incentives:

Know what motivates employees: In the past, monetary incentives were the go-to employee incentive. However, as times have changed, so have employee motivations. Some employees may be motivated by more learning and development opportunities, while others want more recognition. Ask employees to learn what motivates them and how they want to be recognized. Consider conducting a survey on how they'd like to be recognized or rewarded or including a few questions in their onboarding process on what motivates them to work harder. Understanding exactly what motivates your employees can result in a 79% increase in meeting your company goals.

Providing the right incentives shows employees that you care about them and the value they add to your company.

8. Offer Competitive Compensation

If you want great employees, you need to have great compensation plans. Above-average employees deserve above-average compensation, and you want to show your employees you value them and the work they do.

Some HR best practices for compensation include:

Vary compensation options: Upping your compensation offer doesn't always mean adding more numbers. You could offer other types of compensation, such as additional vacation days, company discounts, stock options, or profit-sharing.

Whatever your company's compensation strategy, it should be based on the productivity and contributions of the employees, and the managers in your organization should be prepared to communicate about it.

9. Resolve-and Avoid-HR Compliance Violations

The best way to handle compliance issues is to avoid having them in the first place. Here are some human resource practices to prevent compliance issues:

Hiring, employee classification, and wage requirements all require constant attention to stay in compliance. Utilizing your point person and HR software can help you stay one step ahead of any upcoming changes to HR.

Next Steps: Choose a Partner that Empowers You to Meet Best Practices

The first step to implementing HR best practices is to use the right technological platform. As mentioned earlier, you want to ensure the platform aligns with your business needs and empowers employees to do their best. Avoid going with a platform that makes it difficult for employees to find what they need or doesn't align to your specific company goals. This could result in lower employee engagement, higher turnover, and decreased productivity.

Bamboo HR has helped 30,000+ companies not only follow best practices but empower employees to do their best work. Our comprehensive platform includes everything you need to streamline HR practices, boost employee engagement, reduce turnover, and provide a high-quality employee experience.

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9 HR Best Practices You Need to Follow in 2023

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Discover the top nine HR best practices for 2023-and how each empowers organizations and employees to outperform the competition.

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The Value of Neurodiversity Hiring for a Diverse Workforce

A diverse workforce with a variety of talents, skills, ideas, and perspectives will outperform its competitors and stand out as an employer of choice. Neurodiversity is one component of that competitive edge.

Neurodiversity describes the natural and different ways people learn, process information, interact with others, and perceive the world. 15-20% of the US population is neurodiverse. This includes differences such as autism, ADHD, PTSD, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, dyslexia, and other neurological differences.

No two neurodiverse people are exactly alike, and they often do not self-identify as people with disabilities. In fact, most neurodiverse workers rarely choose to reveal their condition due to stigma, misunderstandings, and prejudices. Therefore, a workplace culture where all learning styles and different perspectives are recognized makes talent feel safe, accepted, and supported.

What is Neurodiversity in Recruitment?

While neurodiverse candidates look for and apply to jobs using the same tools and techniques as other candidates, there are other ways employers can hire and recruit from this talent pool. Connecting with vocational rehabilitation agencies, workforce development boards, and nonprofit community organizations supporting neurodiverse workers is an excellent place to start. Apprenticeship programs or other mentorship programs aimed to support and build up neurodiverse workers have proven successful. You might also consider hosting hiring events focused on recruiting neurodiverse workers.

Neurodiverse workers may face hurdles along their path to employment. The challenges of understanding job descriptions and requirements, unfamiliar online systems or software, interviewing, social or communication barriers, and other aspects of the hiring process present them deter many from applying to positions they're ideally suited for, and, as a result, many neurodiverse individuals are unemployed or underemployed.

In order to realize the great benefits neurodiverse individuals bring to the workplace, companies must adjust their recruitment selection and career development policies to include a broader representation of talent. Once hired, support groups, continued mentorship, and open conversations about helpful accommodations allow these workers to thrive.

What is the Neurodiversity Movement?

The neurodiversity movement emerged in the 1990s as an effort to increase the acceptance and inclusion of all people while also embracing neurological differences. While neurodiversity refers to all people and emphasizes that there's no one right way of thinking, learning, or behaving, the term often refers to people with variations in brain structure and cognition, versus "neurotypical" people. Hiring neurodiverse individuals not only brings culture benefits but also gives businesses a competitive edge.

Why Can Neurodiversity Hiring Give You a Competitive Advantage?

Neurodiverse individuals tend to think differently than their peers, and this can prove advantageous in a workplace environment. Their skills and talents may include innovation and creativity, visual design, mathematics, pattern recognition, the ability to excel at work that is routine or repetitive in nature, technical or design strengths, problem-solving, reliability and persistence, accuracy, and the ability to detect errors, or strong information or detail recall. Providing the right accommodations and understanding helps companies empower a neurodiverse workforce to thrive.

What Kind of Workplace Accommodations Do Neurodiverse Employees Sometimes Need?

It's important to foster an environment conducive to neurodiversity, recognizing individual strengths and talents and accommodating various needs. Every worker should be made to feel safe, accepted, and supported in their work environment. Types of accommodations include noise-canceling headphones for overstimulation, workspaces that limit sensory stimulation for sensitive individuals, frequent breaks, avoiding multitasking, and scheduling or productivity tools for those with ADHD.

Creating and implementing a neurodiversity candidate inclusion plan isn't just a good idea, it's also the law. Neurodiverse workers have the right to request a specific accommodation under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, and their employer must authorize the requested accommodation unless it creates an unreasonable hardship for the company. In that case, it's a good idea to arrange an alternate solution that both meets the individual's needs and is within the company's reasonable capabilities.

What are the Top Neurodiversity Hiring Programs?

An increasing number of companies are investing in neurodiversity hiring programs. Here are a few that are doing it well:

Goldman Sachs

The Goldman Sachs Neurodiversity Hiring Initiative (NHI) is a 10-week paid internship program for neurodiverse talent, with an opportunity to convert to full-time roles in fields such as engineering, compliance, and operations. Interns are coached and mentored to lay the foundation for a long-term career path. They partner with Specialisterne to identify and source candidates, as well as train and prepare them for Goldman Sachs internships.

Chevron

Chevron's Neurodiversity Program boasts a 12-week paid internship matching neurodiverse talent to appropriate job roles. Participants receive role-specific training on job requirements and technical skills from assigned mentors, who are trained in managing and collaborating effectively with neurodiverse employees. Interns who successfully demonstrate their abilities may be offered full-time employment.

Microsoft

Microsoft's Neurodiversity Hiring Program centers around an inclusive application and interview process for neurodiverse talent, so that they can showcase their unique abilities and talents while learning about Microsoft as an employer of choice. This program has successfully hired neurodiverse talent into roles including consulting, content writing, customer engineer, data analytics manager, data scientist, finance analyst, IT service operations, product marketing manager, program manager, etc.

DXC Technology

The DXC Dandelion Program supports the talents and skills of neurodiverse workers, helping people with Autism, ADHD, and dyslexia build the skills necessary for a successful IT career. This program connects neurodiverse individuals with meaningful employment while also helping workplaces fill IT skill gaps.

JP Morgan Chase

JP Morgan Chase scouts for talent with their Autism at Work program, which arranged employment placement, high-touch training, and accommodations support for talent on the spectrum.

Ford Motor Company

The FordWorks Program is an inclusive hiring program that provides on-the-job training and employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. FordWorks participants bring their strengths and insights to teams in IT, Product Development, Credit, and Manufacturing.

Freddie Mac

Freddy Mac's Neurodiversity at Work programs helps those on the autism spectrum transition into full-time employment. Leaders mentor new talent beyond the initial hiring process, acting as a continual checkpoint for those on the spectrum throughout their careers. Future team members and managers are encouraged to go through neurodiversity training. Freddie Mac has also made strides in streamlining the job accommodation process for current and prospective employees.

Recruiting Neurodiverse Candidates

Neurodiversity hiring should be at the forefront of your business plan. Studies suggest that 50-75% of the 5.4 million autistic adults in the U.S. are underemployed or unemployed. In the broader neurodiverse category, adult unemployment runs at 30-40%, eight times higher than the rate for people without disabilities. Neurodiverse adults are often left out of the workforce or resigned to lower-skill jobs due to non-inclusive hiring and retention practices, lack of employer education and training, and the absence of support systems within the business.

Yet this talent pool has so much to offer- neurodiverse individuals approach problems differently and bring innovative ideas and solutions to the table. Implementing a neurodiversity hiring initiative will not only bring in loyal talent who will make your business more competitive, but it'll also create a more dynamic and inclusive workplace culture.

Looking to connect with more diverse talent but unsure where to begin? Check out our HirePurpose Diversity Sourcing and Talent Attraction solution. We'll help you create a more diverse workforce and meet your diversity hiring goals by connecting you with diversity candidates seeking employers offering an inclusive workplace.

Get More DEI Insights from Orion Talent

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What is Neurodiversity Hiring & How to Get It Right

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A diverse workforce with a variety of talents, skills, ideas, and perspectives will outperform its competitors and stand out as an employer of choice. Neurodiversity is one component of that competitive edge.

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HR best practices involve the strategic operations of HR. They form the foundation and guidance for managing the company’s employees and should coordinate with the executive business plan. Some examples of HR practices include:

Setting the mission and goals of the HR department

Planning, organizing, and managing the HR department

Measuring the effects of programs

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1. Selective Hiring: Find the Right People for Your Team
2. Design an Onboarding Programme To Ensure a Smooth Start
3. Prioritise Ongoing Training for Continued Development
4. Employee Compensation: Developing the Best Remuneration Package
5. Employee Engagement: Best Practices for a Long-Term Relationship
6. Evaluate Employee Performance and Share Feedback
7. Flexible and Adaptive Working Models

8. Transparency

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1. Invest in the Right Technology
2. Streamline Recruitment and Hiring
3. Offer Effective Onboarding, Training, and Development
4. Handle Layoffs With Compassion
5. Build an Inclusive Company Culture
6. Offer Compelling Benefits
7. Motivate Employees With the Right Incentives
8. Offer Competitive Compensation

9. Resolve—and Avoid—HR Compliance Violations

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HR best practices consist of researched and proven principles and processes that can help produce optimal results for any business. While they may be universally applicable, human resources best practices are often tailored to meet specific needs.

The ultimate goal of any HR best practice is to improve business performance by optimising employee performance. In many cases, they are most often paired with politics that are customised to help support and achieve any goals.

While the terms 'practice' and 'activity' are often used interchangeably, there is an important technical difference between them. Some key aspects that distinguish HR practices from HR activities include:

HR practices are broad in scope and focused on planning and implementing HR best practice policies, so they can fall in line with the overall business plan.

HR practices help align the mission and stated role of HR departments with those of the organisation as a whole.

The effectiveness of HR practices is reflected in how they improve your employees' career outcomes, performance and overall potential.

On the other hand, the aspects of HR activities include:

HR activities focus on the details that establish best business practices in the workplace. For example, recruitment, training, payroll, and maintaining employee relations all fall under HR activities.

While HR practices set the Human Resources department's overall goals and objectives, activities are the methods that help you achieve them.

The most effective HR policies are those that reflect the wants and needs of employees. As employee expectations shift, it's important to review your policies to make sure they provide employees with what they need to succeed.

To that end, following these HR best practices ensures you update company policies in a way that accommodates a new generation of workers without losing sight of the fundamentals...

The first priority of any business should be to find and hire the best people to fill empty positions. Doing so typically requires an up-to-date hiring process that filters out candidates that don't fit the role or the organisation. That's the goal of selective hiring: to find the best people for the job through a comprehensive analysis of the job requirements and robust hiring strategies.

HR recruitment best practices involve improvements in communication with candidates. For example, job adverts should clarify prerequisites and highlight the type of employee you're looking to hire. In addition, a well-written job description can discourage unqualified candidates from applying while attracting top talent.

However, focusing too strongly on this HR best practice can have recruiters ignoring good candidates in search of perfect ones. An employee's skills are important, but many can be taught; it's generally more important that they fit in with your company's culture.

A proper onboarding programme signals to new employees that they're going to be supported in their new role. A robust programme sets up the best chances for employee success and assures them they've made the right choice in joining your organisation.

The first thing to do is build an onboarding programme that works. That means handling all of the key administrative tasks, like:

There's a lot of work that goes into an employee's first day. An automated employee onboarding software simplifies this process both for your HR department and the new employee.

In the long term, effective onboarding also means developing a detailed training plan to teach new hires the skills they're missing. Some organisations employ mentorship programmes where senior employees pass on first-hand knowledge to newer ones, while others implement courses that teach them the fundamentals of the positions.

However, a mix of several training methods might be the best to produce well-rounded and productive employees.

Supporting the growth of your workforce helps them keep up with new industry trends while keeping them engaged with their work. Ideally, this practice leads to a well-rounded and effective workforce that you have little issue retaining well into the future.

One of the most effective methods for pursuing this HR best practice is focusing on skills-based training. While more generalised programmes are useful for new hires, more precise areas where they can improve will become clearer as they adjust to their roles. Specialised courses for any skills gaps help shore up employee competencies faster and more efficiently.

Something else to consider is focusing training opportunities on those employees who are more adaptable. Employees with years or decades of experience likely have a process that's worked for them and may not be as open to adopting new ways of doing things. Those newer in their careers are still settling into their roles and may be more open to new ways to sharpen their skills. No matter who expresses interest in these programmes, they are an investment in employees - an investment that will pay off over time.

Despite its many benefits, focusing too much on this HR best practice can have drawbacks. For one, the more training resources you make available, the more expensive it is to maintain the programme. And the longer employees spend training, the less they can contribute to the organisation's overall productivity.

An appealing remuneration package motivates current employees and attracts top talent. For many, this begins with financial compensation. While a competitive wage is the primary motivator for many employees, there should be clear guidelines about pay rises, bonuses and other infrastructure that puts employees on the path to more money as they grow.

In some organisations, performance-based rises encourage employees to maintain and improve performance, but this HR policy needs to be rolled out carefully. Competition isn't bad, but something should change about your if it's damaging cooperation between colleagues. Additionally, wage increases and material rewards tend to work best on employees with repetitive responsibilities; the more complex an employee's task, the more you may have to give to keep them motivated.

Employee compensation goes beyond a good wage - it includes all benefits offered that bring value, monetary or otherwise, to the compensation scheme. This can include maternity and paternity leave, work-from-home provisions, extra paid holiday and private health insurance plans separate from the NHS, among other examples. Providing a robust and competitive package can help draw new quality talent to your company and keep the workforce you have as long as possible.

Supporting and uplifting continued employee engagement is one of your HR department's most important responsibilities. Employees who feel engaged with their jobs are more likely to perform well and are more likely to stay for the long term.

HR best practices for increasing engagement revolve around creating a workplace environment of mutual trust. Typically, that means establishing communication channels that allow employees to build stronger connections within their departments, with other departments and with the C-suite. With that in place, management can respond to employee issues more quickly, readily recognise their achievements and keep them in the loop about goings-on within the company.

Following through on this best practice can be difficult because establishing and taking advantage of robust communication channels can be time-consuming. Additionally, the more interconnected internal operations are, the higher the risk of miscommunication, creating conflicts and slowing down productivity.

Offering constructive feedback to employees is one of the most effective ways to help them improve professionally. Direct involvement in how your employees develop can make them more effective in their current position and set them up for continued growth and promotions within your company.

Additionally, demonstrating that level of support often fosters a deeper connection between them and the organisation as a whole, encouraging higher work performance. And the positive changes they make in their everyday operations improve overall company performance.

One of the best ways to evaluate employee performance is with 360-degree feedback. This style of constructive criticism gives employees the most thorough, unbiased and comprehensive feedback possible - hence its name. This evaluation is completed by colleagues, managers and other staff aside from the employee's direct manager, with reviews based on hard data and not governed by emotion.

This process begins with a feedback survey, typically conducted online, that covers a broad range of competencies. These questions are typically a combination of open-ended responses and closed-ended responses in the form of rating something on a numeric scale (a Likert Scale). This mix gives space for concrete information, while giving participants the opportunity to share their insights. The questionnaire is distributed to a group determined by HR, and its responses form the framework of the review feedback conversation with the employee.

When implementing this practice, be aware that questions on a 360-degree feedback survey are often too focused on employee weaknesses rather than strengths. That focus can have a dampening effect on employee motivation and eventually lead to lower quality work. Additionally, while the 360-degree feedback method does give a comprehensive view of your workforce, the anonymous nature of the responses doesn't allow you to follow up on critical issues easily.

The working world has evolved in recent years, with work-from-home and flexible working hours models now a highly sought-after perk for many prospective and current employees. As a result, it's become increasingly important for employers to give their workforce the option to work from home.

A flexible working model is an HR best practice where the company allows employees to choose where and, to some extent, when they want to work. Adapting to each worker's unique needs and preferences helps ensure they can work at their full potential. Additionally, giving them more control over their work lives can mitigate stress and help them properly manage a work-life balance, which in turn increases productivity.

When creating an adaptive working model, keep in mind that this arrangement isn't the best for all employees or work environments. If you decide offering continued work from home is right for your company, make sure your programme has clear rules, established expectations and you have measures in place to track performance and remediate any issues that may arise.

A work environment that encourages open communication and fosters feedback is the bedrock of a thriving workforce. As an HR professional, you play a key role in creating a culture of transparency and openness by implementing and maintaining these communication channels.

As a result, your workforce feels like a more integral part of the company, which fosters dedication and loyalty that helps increase retention rates.

Transparency takes many forms under HR's umbrella. First is corporate communications, establishing and maintaining methods of what's new at your company, both good and bad. Disseminating important information on a regular basis through daily team updates, newsletters, company-wide emails or other digital tools keeps your whole team informed. There's also transparency in important topics like pay schemes, which helps drive fair pay practices that help close the gender wage gap.

HR best practices tend to be foundational guidelines, but their details shift with the times. Best practices evolve as the world changes, the most recent example being the COVID-19 pandemic and the era of flexible work-from-home policies it ushered in. This change seems to be a permanent one, with more workers than ever desiring a workplace that allows at least some sort of work-from-home option.

There's also the matter of how employees air their workplace grievances. The rise of social media means new ways to share both positives and negatives about a company, whereas before, employees might have shared reservations and concerns between friends or co-workers outside the office. Now, it takes little effort for a disgruntled employee to take to TikTok or Reddit with their stance on workplace drama, whether the critique is warranted or not. As a result, HR needs to think about social media use in the workplace as a matter of policy in 2023, while keeping in mind that a positive work environment is one of the best defences you can have.

Finally, there's a matter of morale as redundancies continue to affect industries like tech. These layoffs have a cooling effect and have many employees wondering about the fate of their own positions. Open communication and employee engagement, two of our recommended best practices for 2023, can help reassure nervous workers that their positions are secure.

Implementing HR best practices creates a framework upon which you can build a workplace that caters to the professional needs of employees. Supporting your workforce, in turn, encourages higher employee performance and productivity.

The top HR best practices include:

Finding the right employees to bring into your company

Establish a solid onboarding programme to help new hires start on the right foot

Help your employees develop into more well-rounded professionals throughout their employment

Compensate them fairly according to the work they do

Encourage higher engagement by building a positive work environment

Implement 360-degree feedback to accurately understand how each worker can improve

Adapt your working model to employee needs

Openly share what's happening within the company with your employees

Giving employees more freedom to decide where and when they work is becoming increasingly crucial to incoming candidates. Willingness to adapt to each employee's unique needs can help attract more high-quality talent. There's also a need to address the role social media has in the daily lives of employees and how that may impact the workplace.

HR best practices build a solid foundation for establishing a business's people management policies. While their implementation is no easy feat, a central hub can help you manage all the moving parts with ease.

Personio offers access to top-quality HR tools such as payroll preparation, analytics and reporting, onboarding and more that help create a work environment where employees thrive. Speak with an expert to learn how Personio can help you manage your HR tasks.

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8 HR Best Practices You Need to Know: A Complete Guide

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What are HR best practices? How do they differ from HR activities? ✓ Latest trends ✓ Top 8 HR best practices ✓ Helpful tools " Learn more!

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The benefits for any brand of recruiting a neurodiverse workforce are wide ranging and transformative. From leading new innovations and helping marketers achieve true diversity of thought, to enriching the wider company culture, having a neurodiverse workforce makes strong business sense.

Neurodiversity, by definition, relates to individuals with dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) and autism, including Asperger's syndrome.

Representing a talented, but often untapped workforce, neurodiverse people have conditions that often sit on a spectrum, meaning they differ significantly in terms of severity and symptoms. For this reason it is crucial employers resist the temptation to stereotype and appreciate that neurodiverse people possess a wide range of skills suited to a variety of roles.

The National Institute of Economic and Social Research highlighted this point in a 2016 study conducted for ACAS (the UK Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service), which explained that there is a "propensity for neurodivergent individuals to be stereotyped according to the more well-known characteristics of their condition."

The report stressed that not all individuals with autism are highly numerate, nor will everyone with dyslexia have insurmountable difficulties around functional literacy.

This is a fact appreciated by the team at software developer SAP, which two years into its Autism at Work initiative have discovered that it is impossible to pigeonhole people on the autism spectrum due to their diverse range of talents.

To date the company has hired 120 employees on the autism spectrum for 22 roles in nine countries and across 17 locations. Approximately 80% are full-time employees, while the other 20% are interns or contractors.
READ MORE: How to hire neurodiverse people
These roles span areas as diverse as human resources and graphic design to software developers, project managers and customer support. In May the business sent its first autistic employee to do consultancy work on site with a customer.

"We have 120 employees on the spectrum in 110 teams, which means we don't have a centre of excellence where we put all our colleagues on the spectrum under one manager," explains Jose Velasco, SAP vice-president of products and innovation, and co-leader of the Autism at Work programme.

"We really are striving for inclusion and to change the culture of the company. For us it's extremely important that these colleagues are in every part of the organisation. We have hired people on the spectrum who are in the office of the CEO all the way to product and innovation. That's what it takes to change the culture of a company. When people are in every part of the organisation it becomes the new norm."

Creating a supportive ecosystem

Once inside an organisation it is crucial that people with neurodiverse conditions are supported in order to achieve their full potential.

At SAP people taking part in the Autism at Work initiative have four layers of support within the organisation. This support circle includes a manager who has received autism awareness training and a "buddy" within their own team who teaches them about the job.

Another member of the support circle is the Autism at Work mentor, typically an employee volunteers in a separate team who helps ensure their colleagues on the spectrum feel integrated by organising regular lunches, bowling, pizza and movie nights with other people in the business.

Lastly there is the job and life skills coach, a person from a third party company who offers practical advice on things like signing a lease or paying their bills, so the autistic individual can come to work on time and be successful.

The belief that it is crucial to train teams to better understand neurodiversity is shared by advisory company and insurance broker Willis Towers Watson, which first outlined its commitment to hire people on the autism spectrum in 2015.

Since then the company has recruited 18 people on the autism spectrum in the US to work as data analysts, inspiring the programme to extend to the UK.

Focusing on the data solutions area of the business, Willis Towers Watson's UK ASD programme is working with external organisations and charities to make adjustments to the recruitment, onboarding and training processes in a bid to recruit six to eight colleagues by the end of August.

Watson provides hiring managers with guidance on understanding body language and eye contact. This training also makes a difference to people in the business who may already be on the autism spectrum or perhaps have not yet self-identified, explains global employer brand manager Andrew Farmer.

"We provide managers with guidance in the form of a tool kit on social interaction and communication styles from the interview process to supporting those colleagues once they are in the business, as well as advice on how other team members can interact and be supportive."

The widespread benefits

The business benefits of committing to neurodiversity are vast. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research urges employers to consider the numerous positive attributes associated with neurodiverse individuals from creativity, persistence and loyalty, to the ability to hyperfocus and possession of visual, spatial and lateral thinking skills.

Farmer agrees that people with neurological differences represent hidden, untapped talents.

"Some may have a very structured way of thinking and the ability to follow a process and improve it. Looking at roles like data analytics that's really key. There have been trends [in these individuals] around their ability to spot patterns and errors within data," he says.

"Turnover is also rarely a problem with these individuals as they are very loyal, prompt and have a willingness to really stick with it - key attributes in a colleague."

We really are striving for inclusion and to change the culture of the company. For us it's extremely important that these [neurodiverse] colleagues are in every part of the organisation.

Jose Velasco, SAP

SAP's Jose Velasco agrees the benefits of building a neurodiverse workforce are multi-dimensional and have real competitive impact on the bottom line.

"We have colleagues on the autism spectrum working on software testing and preventing bugs from making their way to customers. We have the impact of the colleague that filed for two patents," he explains.

"And then you have the impact on how we are perceived by our customers. If you want to be the vendor of choice you have to be the neighbour of choice and the employer of choice. I think hiring people from our community has allowed us to have stronger relationships with the communities where we work."

The benefits to the wider community of employing a neurodiverse workforce were highlighted by Tesco group brand director, Michelle McEttrick, during Mumsnet's annual Mumstock conference (26 April).
READ MORE: Aviva and Tesco issue 'call to arms' to do more for mums
She described a Facebook post authored by customer Emma Shawcross in September 2016, describing her experience of being served by someone with autism at a Tesco supermarket in Diss, Norfolk.

In the post Shawcross explained that every moment of the interaction was "perfect" and as the mother of a 12-year-old autistic boy it made her "heart smile". Chatting to the cashier, he explained that Tesco had given him an opportunity many other employers had not.

McEttrick described this as a "zero budget idea" rooted in authenticity and integrity, which did not come from a nationwide initiative, but from the specific store's decision to prioritise inclusion.

"They had a barrier to certain colleague bases, so they made an effort to recruit, train and motivate autistic colleagues and that's what this customer was responding to," said McEttrick.

"It [the Facebook post] went viral and within 24 hours there were 91,000 reactions, 1,500 comments. It was all about her responding to something that wasn't a specific thing we said, it was something we did."

Any company interested in implementing their own neurodiversity programmes should start small, says Velasco, who advises hiring three to five people on the spectrum across different functions, as well as teaming up with partners to minimise the risk. Once launched companies should promote the programme within their organisation and raise awareness externally in order to take their neurodiversity efforts to the next level.

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With the right level of support neurodiverse individuals can prosper in any business and make a significant contribution which benefits both brand culture and the bottom line.

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https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/human-resource-function
https://www.umassglobal.edu/news-and-events/blog/key-functions-of-human-resources

Recruitment and Selection, Onboarding, Socialisation

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Functions & Practices of Human Resource Management

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Human resources is responsible for recruiting and retaining talent, maintaining the business’ work-life balance and more. Human resources practices are part conceptual, part implementation of an HR strategy, comprised of systems that follow the normal or customary way of doing business.

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thesis question

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Introduction 1.1 - The recruitment-cycle

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Introduction 1.1 - The recruitment-cycle

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Introduction 1.2 - Autism in a workplace context

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Introduction 1.2 - Autism in a workplace context

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What is it

DSM

Why does it make it hard to work

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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an important mental impairment for the Social Security Administration (SSA) as well as for stakeholders in the health care system and disability community, due in part to the considerable and continuous growth in the rates of disability attributed to ASD. From 2004 to 2013, the ASD and developmental disorders category grew more than any other mental disorder in the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. As reported in Chapter 3, over that decade the ASD category had the largest increase in the number of allowances per year, the largest increase in the number of determinations per year, the largest increase in the number of recipients, and the largest increase in the recipient proportion of all selected mental disorders-from 8.08 percent due to autistic disorder in 2004 to 20.53 percent in 2014. In addition, the autistic disorders category has the second highest allowance rate. These findings are of particular significance since there seems to be little or no indication of when growth in the number of children applying for and receiving SSI benefits for ASD will abate.

This chapter addresses the question of whether trends in the disability attributed to autistic disorders in the SSI program for children are consistent with trends observed in the general population of children in the United States and in the Medicaid child population.

ESTIMATES OF AUTISM PREVALENCE AND PREVALENCE TRENDS FROM THE GENERAL POPULATION

Prevalence of Autism

The first studies of the prevalence of autism, which were conducted in the 1960s and 1970s in Europe and the United States, reported prevalence estimates in the range of 2 to 4 cases per 10,000 children ( Lotter, 1966; Rutter, 2005; Treffert, 1970). This led to the impression that autism was a rare childhood disorder. The earliest prevalence studies also found a consistent sex difference, with boys being three to four times more likely to have autism than girls. Following an expansion of diagnostic criteria for autism that occurred in the late 1980s and 1990s, autism prevalence studies around the world showed dramatic increases ( Fombonne, 2009; Rice, 2013; Rutter, 2005). The association between rising autism prevalence estimates and changes in the criteria for diagnosing autism can be seen in Figure 14-1.

By 2002, estimates of the prevalence of autism in the United States were in the range of 6 to 7 per 1,000 children, more than a 30-fold increase from the first studies of autism prevalence ( Fombonne, 2009; Lotter, 1966; Rice et al., 2007; Treffert, 1970). These studies also found the prevalence of ASD to be three to four times higher in boys than girls.

It is likely that the rise in autism prevalence during the latter decades of the 20th century, based on epidemiologic studies, can be attributed largely to the expansion of diagnostic criteria and the adoption of the concept of autism as a spectrum of impairments (ASD) that occurred during this period ( Fombonne, 2009; King and Bearman, 2009; Rice, 2013; Wing and Potter, 2002). It is also possible that other factors, including improvements in screening and services for children with ASD and increases in specific risk factors for ASD (such as increases in the proportion of births to older parents) have also contributed to increases in the prevalence of ASD over time ( Durkin et al., 2008; Grether et al., 2009; Rice, 2013; Rice et al., 2013; Schieve et al., 2011).

Prevalence Trends

We describe recent trends in the frequency of ASD in the United States based on four types of data sources: (1) epidemiologic studies, (2) special education "child counts," (3) administrative data on developmental services from the state of California, and (4) national surveys based on parental reports. For purposes of this review of ASD prevalence among children in the United States, which focuses on the years 2000-2012, it is important to emphasize that no formal changes in diagnostic criteria were introduced or adopted between the years 2000 and 2012. Thus, changes in the prevalence of ASD during this period cannot be readily explained by the evolution of diagnostic criteria, though the gradual adoption and increasing application of diagnostic criteria introduced in the 1990s could have affected prevalence trends during the 2000-2012 period.

It is important to acknowledge that there are no perfect sources of data for evaluating trends in the prevalence of autism in the United States. An ideal source that would allow evaluation of trends over time might be generated by large-scale, nationally representative, population-based epidemiologic studies conducted periodically, and using validated and comparable methods and diagnostic criteria over time. No such data source exists. The data sources used for the purposes of this study have complementary strengths and weaknesses. For example, the epidemiologic data source described below, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, has the advantages of being population-based, including large and diverse populations of U.S. children, relying on validated methods for classifying cases of ASD that were comparable over a multiple-year period (2000-2010), and allowing evaluation of trends over time. The ADDM Network data are, however, not nationally representative and they rely on administrative records of developmental and/or educational assessments. In contrast, special education "child count" data have the advantages of being nationally representative and available annually, but do not necessarily rely on standard case definitions or diagnostic criteria that are comparable over time and across states and school districts. Administrative data from the California Department of Developmental Services (CDDS) have the advantages of representing one large, U.S. state and allowing monitoring of annual trends in the number of children in the state receiving services for autism, but the disadvantage of not being nationally representative. The national survey data have the advantage of being based on national probability samples, but the disadvantages of relying on parental reports rather than diagnostic assessments and standard criteria, and of response rates less than 100 percent. Despite the limitations of each data source, taken together they provide valuable and complementary evidence for evaluating trends over time in the frequency of ASD in U.S. children.

Trends Based on Epidemiologic Studies

Since 2000, the ADDM Network of the CDC has conducted surveillance of ASD among 8-year-old children in multiple U.S. sites every 2 years using methods that have been comparable over time and that are based on the diagnostic criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV-TR; APA, 2013). The ADDM Network ASD prevalence estimate for the year 2000 was 6.7 per 1,000. As shown in Table 14-1, by 2010, the most recent year for which data are available, the prevalence had more than doubled, to 14.7/1,000 or 1.5 percent (95 percent confidence interval [CI] 1.43-1.51 percent) ( Baio, 2012, 2014; Rice, 2009; Rice et al., 2007).

Although ASD can be diagnosed before age 2 years in some children and is typically a lifelong condition or disability, population-based studies have shown that the median age at which children receive a formal diagnosis or ASD classification is 5.2 to 5.7 years ( Maenner et al., 2014; Shattuck et al., 2009). The ADDM Network approach to monitoring ASD prevalence assumes that most children in the United States with ASD will have received a developmental assessment or a special educational assessment providing documentation of ASD diagnostic criteria by the age of 8 years ( Durkin et al., 2014). For this reason, the ADDM Network monitors the prevalence of ASD at the single year of age 8 as the most efficient way to monitor trends over time. Because children who have ASD at the age of 8 years most likely have this condition throughout childhood, the prevalence at age 8 can provide an estimate of ASD prevalence among children of all ages.

An important caveat about the ASD prevalence estimates from ADDM Network data is that the sites represented in the network are selected in a competitive process and do not provide a probability sample of U.S. children ( Baio, 2014). For this reason, the resulting prevalence estimates cannot be generalized to the nation. However, the ASD prevalence estimates from the ADDM Network are population based in the sense that efforts are made at each participating site to count every 8-year-old child with ASD in the defined populations rather than just counting those who receive care through a particular health care provider or who receive special education services for autism ( Baio, 2014; Durkin et al., 2014).

A consistent finding in virtually all epidemiologic studies of ASD is the excess prevalence among boys relative to girls ( Fombonne, 2009). This can be seen in the trend lines from the ADDM Network prevalence findings shown in Figure 14-2, which also show that the rise in ASD prevalence from 2000 to 2010 was somewhat steeper for boys than girls, resulting in an increase in the sex ratio (boys to girls) from 3.5 in 2000 to 4.5 in 2010 ( Baio, 2012, 2014; Rice, 2009; Rice et al., 2007).

Persistent racial and ethnic disparities in ASD prevalence as determined by the ADDM Network are seen for each surveillance year between 2002 and 2010, with the prevalence being highest among white non-Hispanic children and lowest among Hispanic children (see Figure 14-3). The trend of rising prevalence of ASD over time occurred for all racial and ethnic subgroups monitored ( Baio, 2012, 2014; Rice, 2009; Rice et al., 2007).

Trends Based on the Number of Children Receiving Special Educational Services for ASD

In 1992, 15,556, children (ages 6 to 22 years) in the United States received special education services for ASD. By 2011 this number had increased by more than 25-fold, to 406,957. Figure 14-4 shows the increasing trend between 2001 and 2012 in the number per 1,000 of U.S. children, ages 6-17 years, who received special educational services under the ASD disability category. This number increased from 1.7 per 1,000 in 2001 to 7.6 per 1,000 in 2012.

Trends Based on the Number of Children Receiving Disability Services with an Autism Diagnosis in California

The state of California provides support and services to individuals with developmental disabilities. The determination of eligibility is administered by the CDDS. Eligibility for services from the CDDS is determined through a systematic evaluation of diagnostic elements and the functional level for the majority of children aged 3 and above. In 2007 the CDDS published data collected on the agency's caseload due to autistic disorder from 1987 to 2007. This source of data has unique strengths. Each case is based on the application of some diagnostic and functional criteria for the determination of eligibility for state-administered supports and services. In addition, this program reaches most individuals in the state of California, California has a large and diverse population, and the program has continuous data available over two decades. Below are two figures from the 2007 report. The first figure (see Figure 14-5) shows the approximately 12-fold increase in the number of people in California who have autism. The second figure (see Figure 14-6) shows the percent growth from year to year among the four primary diagnostic categories for eligibility in the state program. The frequency of ASD in California grew more than 1,100 percent from 1987 to 2007. ASD grew nine times more than the other diagnostic categories between 2002 and 2007 ( Cavagnaro, 2007).

Trends Based on National Surveys of Parents

National Health Interview Survey In each of four national surveys conducted between 1997 and 2008, the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) asked parents from a probability sample of noninstitutionalized U.S. children if a health professional had ever told them their child had ASD ( Boyle et al., 2011). As shown in Table 14-2, the results of these surveys show a nearly fourfold increase in the estimated prevalence of autism among children ages 3-17 years, from 1.9 per 1,000 in 1997-1999 to 7.4 per 1,000 in 2006-2008.

National Survey of Children's Health The National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) has included questions about ASD in three survey years: 2003-2004, 2007, and 2011-2012 ( Blumberg et al., 2013). Between 2003-2004 and 2007, the frequency with which parents reported that their child had ever been diagnosed with ASD increased from 5.5 to 11.6 per 1,000 (see Figure 14-7). By 2011-2012, it had increased to 20 per 1,000 or 2 percent. Note that the age ranges for children included in these surveys differed over time. In the 2003-2004 survey it was 4-17 years, in 2007 it was 2-13 years, and in 2011-2012 it was 6-17 years ( Blumberg et al., 2013).

POTENTIAL EXPLANATIONS FOR THE RISING PREVALENCE OF AUTISM

ASD was first introduced as a category for receiving special education in the United States in 1991. The gradual adoption and use of this reporting category by school districts has led to a gradual increase in the number of children identified with autism in school settings. Children with autism, who might have been served under the intellectual disability (ID) category or another disability category in the past, are increasingly being served under the autism category, a process referred to as "diagnostic substitution" ( Shattuck, 2006). Evidence of diagnostic substitution of autism for ID can be seen in the special education data shown in Figure 14-8. Additional evidence of this can be seen in epidemiologic data for 8-year-old children in metropolitan Atlanta, which showed a decline in ID without co-occurring ASD between 1996 and 2010 and also showed corresponding increases in ASD (with and without co-occurring ID) during the same period ( Braun et al., 2015). Figure 14-9 shows this relationship.

Other factors that have likely contributed to the increasing numbers of children identified as having ASD include increased awareness of autism due to media attention and advocacy; increased training of clinicians and the increased availability of standard screening and diagnostic tools for identifying ASD; new policies for routine pediatric screening for ASD during well-child examinations; an increase in the assignment of co-occurring diagnoses among children with developmental disabilities, a process referred to as "diagnostic accrual" ( King and Bearman, 2009); and the frequent requirement that a child first receive a diagnosis of ASD in order to receive needed services ( Rice, 2013).

A recent study from Sweden provides some evidence that the rise over time in autism diagnoses in that country among children born between 1993 and 2002 was steeper than the increase observed during the same period in the frequency of autism behavioral characteristics reported in telephone surveys of parents ( Lundstrom et al., 2015). The authors concluded that the increase in autism diagnoses could not be fully explained by the corresponding increase in reported autism behavioral characteristics in the population.

As previously discussed, changes in the frequency of risk factors for ASD in the population, including changes in known or suspected risk factors, such as parental age, maternal obesity, and in vitro fertilization, may contribute to variations in trends, but they are unlikely to explain much of the observed increase.

Association Between Socioeconomic Status and ASD Prevalence in the United States and Potential Under-Identification of ASD Among Low-Income Children

In the United States, the prevalence of ASD as identified in both the ADDM Network surveillance system and in the National Health Interview Survey increases with increasing socioeconomic status (SES) ( Boyle et al., 2011; Durkin et al., 2010). This SES gradient in ASD prevalence could be due to disparities in access to services. Figure 14-10 displays the results of an analysis of ADDM Network data showing the prevalence of ASD to be nearly twice as high in children in the highest SES tertile compared with those in the lowest SES tertile. Similarly, the NHIS data show a dose-response association between maternal education and the prevalence of reported ASD in children, which ranged from 2.5 per 1,000 among offspring of mothers with less than a high school education to 6.1 per 1,000 among offspring of mothers with a bachelor's degree ( Boyle et al., 2011). This SES gradient suggests that low-income children with ASD might be underidentified and less likely to be receiving ASD-related services than middle- and high-income children with ASD. This observation is relevant for the SSA, as applications for benefits may continue to rise for children in low-income families.

TRENDS IN THE PREVALENCE OF ASD AMONG SSI AND MEDICAID POPULATIONS

This section of the report presents data on trends in the rates of ASD in the SSI program for children from 2004 to 2013 and in Medicaid from 2001 to 2010.

SSI

Table 14-3 presents SSI administrative data on ASD in children from 2004 to 2013. Column 1 shows the number of new child allowances made each year on the basis of ASD. Column 2 shows the number of child recipients who received SSI benefits on the basis of ASD in December of each year. Note that the number of recipients includes both new allowances and existing cases. Column 3 shows the estimated number of children in households with income less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) for each year. To control for the changes in the magnitude of child poverty, allowance and recipient rates are shown as a percentage of the number of children in households under 200 percent FPL for each year. Column 4 shows the frequency of children in households under 200 percent FPL who were allowed benefits for ASD (i.e., were found to be severely impaired with a primary diagnosis of ASD) in each year, per 1,000 children. The numbers in Column 4 can be interpreted as the incidence rate (per 1,000) of new allowances for ASD each year. Column 5 shows the frequency of children in households under 200 percent FPL who were recipients of SSI payments for ASD in December of each year, per 1,000 children. These numbers can be interpreted as the prevalence each year of children under 200 percent FPL receiving SSI benefits for ASD per 1,000 children. Figure 14-11 graphs the column 4 and 5 data.

Figure 14-11 plots the rate from columns 4 and 5 along with the 10-year averages of the percentages of allowances and recipients for ASD as visual reference points. Over the 10-year period from 2004 to 2013, the rates of child SSI ASD allowances and recipients both increased. During that same period, the incidence of child ASD allowances among children in households under 200 percent FPL more than doubled, from 0.3 to 0.7 per 1,000. The prevalence of child ASD recipients nearly tripled during the same period, from 1.5 to 4.3 per 1,000.

Medicaid

Table 14-4 shows the prevalence of children who were diagnosed with ASD per 1,000 in two different groups of Medicaid enrollees for each year from 2001 to 2010. Column 1 shows the prevalence of ASD diagnoses per 1,000 among all Medicaid enrollees for each year. Column 2 shows the prevalence of ASD diagnoses per 1,000 among the smaller subpopulation of Medicaid enrollees who were eligible to be enrolled in Medicaid as an SSI beneficiary.

As shown in Figure 14-12, the rate of ASD diagnoses among all child Medicaid enrollees and among child SSI-eligible Medicaid enrollees increased more than threefold between 2001 and 2010. The frequency of ASD diagnoses among all Medicaid enrollees increased from 2 per 1,000 in 2001 to 7 per 1,000 in 2010. The frequency of ASD diagnoses among the SSI-eligible subpopulation of Medicaid enrollees increased from 22 to 67 per 1,000 during the same period. The greater frequency of ASD in the SSI-eligible subpopulation is expected since having a disability is an eligibility criterion for the SSI, while the general Medicaid population includes children with and without disabilities.

For the years in which the Medicaid data and the SSI administrative data overlapped, 2004-2010, the rate of ASD diagnoses among all Medicaid-enrolled children increased by 133 percent; the rate of ASD diagnoses among the SSI-eligible Medicaid-enrolled children increased by 123 percent, and the rate of SSI recipients for ASD among children in households under 200 percent FPL increased by 93 percent. These findings confirm that recipients of SSI benefits on the basis of an ASD diagnosis have not grown faster than comparison populations.

DISCUSSION

The increasing trend in the rate of ASD observed in the SSI program for children is consistent with trends in the prevalence estimates of ASD in the general population. The data presented in this chapter uniformly indicate an increase in the frequency of ASD diagnosis or identification among children in the United States, regardless of the population studied or the methods for identifying a case of ASD. Increases in the rates are observed in data from active surveillance efforts, from national surveys, from administrative records on service utilization for ASD, and from among children enrolled in Medicaid. Some of these categories may be more sensitive than others to variations caused by changes in diagnostic practices or standards. The consistency observed across all the data sources supports a finding that the trends observed in the SSI program are not unexpected.

A notable pattern observed in both the SSI data and the special education service utilization data is the increase in the frequency of ASD and the concurrent decrease in the frequency of ID over the time period from 2004 to 2013 (see Figure 3-5 and Figures 14-13 and 14-14). These patterns could be explained in part by diagnostic substitution ( Shattuck, 2006). Special education service use data and SSI data might be particularly sensitive to diagnostic substitution because both are benefit programs that generally require a diagnosis as a prerequisite for benefit or for service eligibility. The data presented here do not provide additional evidence to support a conclusion that diagnostic substitution is, in fact, a cause of the observed trends, but the trends observed in the SSI program are consistent with the possibility that there are children with developmental/cognitive/social impairments who were previously eligible for services or benefits on the basis of a diagnosis of ID or MR but who are more recently deemed eligible on the basis of a diagnosis of ASD.

Based on the National Survey of Child Health estimates for 2011-2012, the prevalence of severe or moderate ASD among U.S. children of ages 2-17 years was 0.8 percent, or 8 per 1,000 ( NSCH, 2012). Severity determinations were based on parental ratings. After 2008, parents rated 41.7 percent of ASD cases as moderate or severe. The estimated number of children below 200 percent FPL in 2012 was 32,269,000. Therefore, the expected number of children with severe or moderate autism living in families below 200 percent FPL would be 258,152. By comparison, in 2012 there were 121,699 child recipients of the SSI benefits for autism, fewer than half the number expected based on the NSCH estimate. Figure 14-15 illustrates these relationships.

Based on national special education child counts, the estimated prevalence of ASD among school-aged children in the United States in 2012 was 0.76 percent, or 7.6 per 1,000. Applying this prevalence estimate to the number of children below 200 percent FPL in 2012, the expected number of children in low-income households with ASD would be 245,244, similar to the expected number based on the NSCH data and more than double the number of child recipients of SSI benefits for autism in 2012.

The ADDM estimated that the prevalence for ASD in 2010 among 8-year-old children was 1.47 percent or 14.7 per 1,000 ( CDC, 2015). In 2010 the estimated number of children below 200 percent FPL was 32,254,000. Applying the ADDM prevalence estimate for 2010 to children below 200 percent FPL, the expected number of children in low-income households with ASD in 2010 would be 474,133. However, recognizing the much lower prevalence of diagnosed ASD in children in low-income households, compared to middle- or upper-socioeconomic-class children, this estimate of the number of children in low-income households with ASD may be a substantial overestimate. In 2010, there were 94,606 recipients of SSI benefits for ASD. It is likely that the high rate of allowances for ASD in the SSI system has considerably closed the gap between potential and actual recipients of benefits. Figure 14-16 illustrates these relationships.

Prevalence of ASD

Findings

Recent prevalence estimates for ASD in the general under-18 population range from 1.5 to 2 percent.

An increasing trend in the prevalence of ASD has been observed across all data sources, including national surveys, epidemiological studies, special education service use counts, and Medicaid reimbursements. The trends in the rate of the child SSI recipients for ASD among children in low-income households are consistent with trends in the rate of ASD observed in both the general population and others.

There is evidence of diagnostic substitution between ASD and ID in both the general population data and the SSI program data. From 2004 to 2013, decreases in the rate and number of recipients of SSI for ID were similar to decreases in the rate of special education service use for ID in the general population; significant increases in the rate and number of recipients of SSI for autistic disorder are similar to increases in the rate of special education services for ASD in the general population.

The trend in ASD diagnoses among Medicaid-enrolled children was similar to general population trends between 2001 and 2010. The yearly prevalence estimates of ASD diagnoses among children enrolled in Medicaid were similar to estimates based on special education child counts, but lower than ASD prevalence estimates from surveillance and survey data for the general population.

Conclusion

Based on current prevalence estimates of autism and on estimates of the number of children in low-income households in this country, there is significant evidence that not all children in low-income households who would be eligible for SSI benefits due to ASD are currently recipients of these benefits. Depending on the prevalence estimate, only 20 to 50 percent of potentially eligible children received SSI benefits. However, unlike the case with other mental disorders, the evidence shows higher rates of ASD identification in middle- and high-income children, and lower rates of identification among low-income children. This suggests ASD in low-income children may be under-identified and underestimated.

REFERENCES

APA (American Psychiatric Association). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. fifth ed. Washington, DC: APA; 2013.

Lotter V. Epidemiology of autistic conditions in young children. Social Psychiatry. 1966;1(3):124-135.

Rice C. Encyclopedia of autism spectrum disorders. Volkmar F, editor. New York: Springer; 2013. pp. 3120-3125. (Time trends in diagnosis).

Rice C, Braun KVN. Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prevalence of autism spectrum disorders-Autism and developmental disabilities monitoring network, six sites, United States, 2000; Prevalence of autism spectrum disorders-Autism and developmental disabilities monitoring network, 14 sites, United States, 2002; and Evaluation of a methodology for a collaborative multiple source surveillance network for autism spectrum disorders-Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 14 sites, United States, 2002. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office; 2007. [ PubMed: 17287716 ]

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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an important mental impairment for the Social Security Administration (SSA) as well as for stakeholders in the health care system and disability community, due in part to the considerable and continuous growth in the rates of disability attributed to ASD.

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What is recruitment?

Recruitment is the process that organisations use to source, attract and identify candidates for their open positions. The goal of recruitment is to gather as many suitable candidates for the role as possible (through as many fitting recruitment methods as possible).

Broadly speaking, there are two types of recruitment:

External recruitment: This is when recruiters search for candidates from outside of their organisation. They might do this by posting on job sites, using social media or posting job descriptions on their own career site. External recruitment can also involve contacting passive candidates - those who aren't actively looking for work.

Internal recruitment: This involves looking for candidates who already work for the organisation in a different role. Many companies choose to advertise the job internally before opening up the search to external candidates. This can allow them to save money since it typically costs less to promote someone than to hire a new candidate.

What is selection?

Selection is the process of assessing candidates' qualities, expertise and experience to narrow down the pool of applicants until you're left with the best person for the role. This process usually involves conducting interviews and using various tests and assessments to evaluate each candidate.

Why does recruitment and selection matter?

An effective recruitment and selection process allows companies to source, attract and identify the best candidates for every open role. This can help to reduce attrition, increase productivity and even improve the company's bottom line.

What is the difference between recruitment and selection?

Recruitment and selection are two different stages in the hiring process. Recruitment involves getting the job description in front of as many potential candidates as possible.

Selection is about narrowing down the pool of applicants until you're left with the strongest candidate. Here are some of the main differences between recruitment and selection:

First stage - introduces the role to suitable candidates

Second stage - in-depth analysis of each candidate

Positive process - the aim is to attract as many candidates as possible

Negative process - the aim is to reject candidates from the list until you're left with just a few

A simpler process - recruiters must simply create an appropriate job description and publish it in the right places

More complex process involving various tests and phases - recruiters must carefully scrutinise each application to identify the best candidates

Usually not time-consuming or expensive

Can be time-consuming and expensive

Only involves communication of vacancies - no contractual relationship is established

Involves the creation of a contractual agreement between the company and the successful candidate

Why optimal recruitment and selection is important

Here are four reasons why an optimal recruitment and selection process is key to an organisation's success:

1. Allows you to attract the best talent

An effective recruitment process connects you with top candidates. This is particularly important when you remember that around 70% of the workforce is made up of passive candidates, who probably wouldn't come across your job openings without active engagement from your recruitment team.

And it's not just about finding the right candidates: a 2019 study found that almost half of jobseekers in high-demand industries had turned down a job offer because of a poor recruitment experience. A solid recruitment and selection process can help convince top candidates that you're the right company for them.

2. Reduces turnover and absenteeism

When it's done right, a strong recruitment and selection process can improve employee engagement, reduce absenteeism and even increase retention. After all, when you find the right person for a role, there's a much better chance that they'll perform to the best of their ability and stick around for the long term.

3. Saves your organisation money

Leaving a role sitting empty for too long can be a big drain on a company's finances. But according to a 2017 Harris Poll, the average cost of a bad hire is almost £15,000. This means that both recruitment (which allows companies to find candidates for each open position) and selection (which ensures they choose the right candidate) help companies to save money in the long run.

4. Creates a level playing field

By formalising the recruitment and selection process, you can ensure that it doesn't leave room for unconscious bias on the part of hiring managers. This gives everyone with the right skills and experience the same opportunity to land a role, regardless of their background.

6 steps in the recruitment and selection process

The recruitment and selection process can be broken down into six key steps:

1. Create meaningful job descriptions

The first step in the process is to put together a clear and detailed job description for each role. This is the candidate's first introduction to the role - and often to your organisation - so it's important to get it right.

To ensure that you only receive applications from candidates with the right skills and experience, make sure your job description is as clear as possible about your requirements for the role.

2. Advertise postings in the right places

Next, you'll need to publish your job description. For generalist roles, you could post it on general job sites, social media platforms like LinkedIn and your company careers site. For more specialist roles, you might want to investigate more specialised job boards.

If you want to advertise the position internally, you could also publish your job description in your employee newsletter, send it out by email or even post it on a physical notice board.

3. Screen resumes thoroughly

Next, you'll begin screening candidates against the requirements of the role so you can eliminate those who aren't suitable. Many companies use blind screening to assess candidates at this stage.

This is when you view CVs or applications with identifying information removed so that characteristics like the candidate's race, age, gender or socioeconomic background don't affect your decisions.

4. Schedule, host and evaluate interviews

When you have narrowed down your initial pool of applicants, the next stage is usually to interview the strongest ones. An interview is an opportunity to meet the candidates and get a better understanding of their capabilities. It also allows you to determine whether they're a good fit for your company culture.

Depending on the seniority of the position, you might conduct several rounds of interviews with various stakeholders, eliminating the weakest candidates after each round.

5. Run various tests and assessments

Next, you'll need to determine whether the remaining candidates have the right skills and qualities for the role. Depending on the nature of the role, you might decide to use:

Personality tests: These are designed to test a candidate's soft skills and determine how they will behave in certain situations.

Knowledge tests: These present candidates with specific situations or questions that assess their expertise, training and experience.

Psychometric tests: These are designed to assess candidates' intelligence, and usually involve solving problems within a time limit.

Technical skills assessments: These provide an objective assessment of candidates' technical skills, making it easy to compare one candidate to another.

The final stage is to review the candidates based on the results of their interviews and any tests or assessments they have completed. This allows you to hone down your pool until you have the best person for the job.

At this stage, you can extend a to your chosen candidate. If they accept it, you'll sign an employment contract together and they'll begin working for you after they've completed their notice period in their current role.

How does recruitment and selection work in nonprofits?

Finding the right people to turn your nonprofit's mission into reality is often one of the most difficult parts of being a nonprofit organisation, especially with the limited budgets that many tend to have to contend with.

Because of that, nonprofits must have a recruiting system in place that makes it easy to monitor each applicant's progress and for key stakeholders and interviewees to be able to access the information they need quickly and easily.

Nonprofits also need to be able to track which recruitment channels are performing best, so that they can adjust their spend accordingly to the job advertisement sites that are going to give the best return on investment for their already limited budgets.

Once a nonprofit has recruited a pool of applicants, selection involves the decision-making needed to narrow down that pool and find the applicants that are both the most invested in your mission and likely to bring the most impact with their skills. Even if applicants are ultimately not hired, it is worth keeping a talent pool for volunteering or future roles.

In a nonprofit, this process may also require additional screening such as police clearance, checking that they have adequate child protection training and similar checks that will ensure the people you are helping are protected. Find out how Personio supports nonprofits here.

Recruiting and assessing candidates is a complex process that involves many different stages. Thankfully, you don't have to manage it alone.

With Personio, you can create, publish and manage job descriptions effortlessly, and increase your reach by posting jobs across 15+ free job boards in just a few clicks. You can also easily create tailored careers pages to show off your employer brand, and manage everything from a convenient recruitment dashboard.

Plus, our applicant tracking system (ATS) lets you keep track of every application from every channel in one place, and save time by automating key parts of the recruitment and selection process.

Want to learn more? Book a free demo to see Personio in action.

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Recruitment and Selection Process: Best Practices & Overview

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The recruitment and selection process can be a huge boost to your organisation, if you get it right. Read our guide on the subject today.

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Written by: Ashlea McKay | Edited by Autumn O'Connor
Autistic people bring immense value to the workplace, however traditional recruitment processes can make it difficult for them to bring their best selves to the table. Read on to learn how to recruit with greater inclusivity...

53.9% of unemployed autistic Australians have never held a paid job despite wanting to work.

A recent study commissioned by Amaze found the unemployment rate of autistic adults in Australia is 31.6%. The same study also found that 53.9% of unemployed autistic Australians have never held a paid job despite wanting to work. There are many barriers to gaining employment for autistic people and inclusive recruitment practices would be a positive step forward for everyone.

This article provides practical inclusion tips across all stages of the recruitment process. Follow these points and gain access to a skilled, talented and under-utilized workforce.

1. Carefully consider any 'must have' skills or experience listed in job advertisements

Autistic persons tend to interpret job criteria and advertisements literally and may not apply for a job they can do:

"I'll only apply for a job if I can prove that I meet ALL the selection criteria".

Peter Horsley, founder of Cerebral Palsy Alliance's technology accelerator Remarkable, recently shared "for someone with autism, they might read a job ad quite literally and say if there are nine attributes that are needed in a job and I don't have one of those attributes then that job is not for me." You can help make job advertisements more inclusive of autistic people by listing only the absolute MUST elements on the job, and by focusing on the tasks the successful candidate/s would need to be able to perform in the role instead of the long list of all your 'mandatory' and 'desired' attributes.

It is also good practice to write your mandatory list clearly. For example wanting "Good communication skills" is quite vague in terms of specific outcomes wanted. How do you measure 'good'? Who is communicating to whom? In that instance saying, "Able to communicate with customers in a face-to-face capacity" could be more apt. Similarly, reflect on whether this skill is a MUST, or if it can be developed.

2. Make it easy for autistic people to see inclusivity in your organization

"Cultural fit matters and it's important for me to feel safe to be my authentic autistic self in a workplace. If you support neurodiversity, say it LOUD and CLEARLY".

Before I consider applying for a role, in addition to checking an employer's website and social media, I'll often analyze the job advertisement to determine how inclusive they might be. This information isn't always included in the job advertisement and when it is, sometimes the employer will name specific types of diversity they welcome and support. Disability and neurodiversity rarely make that list, and this can make me feel excluded or unwelcome. Instead of listing specific types of differences you support, show how your organization is modelling inclusive behaviour by including a sentence or two about tangible diversity and inclusion initiatives you run.

3. Proactively manage unconscious bias in your recruitment team

"Autistics will present differently".

Everyone is biased in some way - it's part of being human. Affinity bias, our tendency to hold a more favourable opinion of someone similar to ourselves, is a common one to be mindful of when hiring. While autism is invisible, we'll often present differently to our peers. For example: I find it hard to make eye contact, I sometimes come across as blunt and I'll often miss social cues, just to name a few. Any of these examples can make me appear to be a poor cultural fit. Chuck Edward, head of global talent acquisition at Microsoft, recently shared his personal experiences with affinity bias when hiring and how he's "had to be very careful to address it head on."

Bias can also come into play when we disclose our autism to an employer.

"From an employment perspective, autistics are often viewed as less capable or unable to perform certain roles".

There are many misconceptions about autistic people. Ableism and discrimination - whether direct, indirect, intentional or unintentional - is common. From an employment perspective we're often viewed as less capable or unable to perform certain roles. A recent study into community attitudes and behaviours towards autism in Australia found that 39.2% of non-autistic respondents did not believe an autistic person could be a doctor and 32.4% felt that we couldn't be a lawyer. The same research team also discovered that 29.2% of autistic respondents reported a lack of understanding of autism from potential employers as a barrier to employment.

Unconscious bias training is a great way to proactively manage this and has an added bonus of benefiting all your hiring activities. It's also likely the training will have a positive impact on your internal working culture. Diversity coach and trainer Peta Bayman says: "confronting unconscious bias is a key aspect of the leadership mindset". Thus, it is important to reflect on how this may be affecting your team.

Also, you might consider participating in the Disability Confident Recruiter program offered by the Australian Network on Disability, which helps organizations empower candidates and staff to create a more inclusive workplace.

4. Rethink the interview concept

Traditional job interviews are stressful for everyone but even more so for autistic people. Steph Carayannis from Specialisterne explains, "Since autistic individuals exhibit differences in their social interactions and communication, they often don't do as well in the traditional interview recruitment processes as [this method] relies more on rapport building and verbalizing the individual's skillset."

"Ditch the formal process that relies on behavioural questions and adhering to an arbitrary structure. Let us our value instead".

To get the best out of autistic candidates and accurately assess our capability, ditch the traditional interview process. Replace the high pressure formal one-on-one discussion with a mix of skills-based assessments, informal conversations and group activities. Let us show you our value instead. As another autistic job seeker, Cain Noble-Davies, reflects, "If I'm applying for a data entry position, put me in front of a typing speed calculator so I can show what I'm capable of."

Many autism hiring programs such as DXC's Dandelion Program include practical tasks in their hiring processes that employers can draw inspiration from for all recruitment activities. This approach has an added bonus of being inclusive of people with other forms of neurodiversity such as Dyslexia and ADHD allowing you to cast an even wider net when looking for talented neurodiverse candidates.

If changing the process isn't an option right now, there are a few adjustments you can make today as a positive first step.

o Provide interview questions in advance, to allow time to process and think

o Clarify how many people will be attending and their roles, to reduce anxiety

o Share details about the interview room, to reduce anxiety. Refer to details in terms of: lighting (e.g., natural or otherwise), temperature (and can it be adjusted?), room orientation and design (e.g., where are the windows, doors and are the walls made of glass?), access to facilities within the building (e.g., toilets, cafes, quiet spaces and public waiting areas)

o Ask if the autistic person needs any reasonable adjustments to attend the interview e.g., a change of location if what you've described is unsuitable, extra time to respond to questions without being penalized, lift access, etc.

Inclusion of autistic candidates must be present at every stage of the process and it is a surprisingly easy and inexpensive thing to do.

Imagine how much bigger your talent pool would be with a few inclusive adjustments...

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Autism At Work - News & Advocacy - How to be inclusive of autism in recruitment

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Autistic people bring immense value to the workplace, however traditional recruitment processes can make it difficult for them to bring their best selves to the table. Ashlea McKay gives tips on how to start your own program.

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People who are on the autism spectrum have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a developmental condition that primarily involves challenges with social interaction, speech and nonverbal communication. The symptoms and outward expression of ASD vary greatly in each person, which is why it's considered a spectrum. People who are on the high-functioning end of the spectrum have milder cases, while those on the low-functioning of the spectrum have more severe cases.

how does being on the autism spectrum impact employability?

People who are on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum are typically able to go about their daily lives like anyone else, and that includes holding a job. People with ASD are typically very intelligent and capable, however, they may struggle with reading social cues or have trouble adapting to new situations. Education and practice can help alleviate some of these struggles, but they are often a lifelong challenge. Unfortunately, underemployment is rampant in the ASD community, as the lack of social skills often makes it more difficult to secure work in spite of their qualifications and ability.

For employers, hiring people with ASD presents both opportunities and challenges. For instance, people with ASD often become specialists in a specific topic or area of focus, which can make them a great resource for jobs that require a high level of expertise and knowledge, such as IT or accounting. However, people with ASD often struggle with social interactions, so they may be less suited for jobs that require giving presentations, greeting customers, dealing with clients, or otherwise require a lot of personal interaction. However, it's important to keep in mind that every person with ASD is unique and will have different skills, abilities, and requirements that apply to their workplace.

Many people on the autism spectrum are underemployed. Those with high-functioning ASD are usually highly capable and intelligent and thrive when they secure the right role. However, they may lack the social skills to pass interviews and other barriers to employment in their chosen field at the skill level they're capable of.

'Hidden' or mental disabilities are especially challenging to overcome in the workplace. When a candidate does not act as a hiring manager expects in a job interview, it's easy to write them off as unqualified or unfit for the role, without considering why their behaviour is different.

Interviewing is a challenging skill for people on the autism spectrum to master, as interviews rely heavily on social skills. When a person with ASD is compared with a neurotypical candidate, it can lead to an unfair comparison based solely on social skills rather than underlying competencies.

Disability-minded workplaces often focus on physical disability. When workplaces and interview processes are built to accommodate people with disabilities, they often consider people with physical disabilities such as wheelchairs, blindness, deafness, etc. Mental disabilities, such as ASD, are less frequently accounted for.

why hire autistic employees?

Hiring candidates with ASD normalizes neurodiversity. Neurodiversity refers to variations in how people think, socialize, feel, and learn. Having people on your team who approach solving problems and completing their work in unique ways has been proven to boost business performance, much like having people from diverse genders, races, and backgrounds.

According to research by Johns Hopkins, as much as 1.85% of the population falls on the autism spectrum. This percentage has increased threefold since 2000. Neurodiverse people are becoming a larger segment of the population. Many people who fall in this category are perfectly capable of holding jobs and making meaningful contributions to their workplace. However, they often get left behind because employers and hiring managers are unable to see past their disorder to the skills and qualifications they hold.

Beyond it simply being the right thing to do, hiring diverse candidates has been repeatedly proven to strengthen your team and business performance. People on the autism spectrum often have traits that have strong applications in a workplace setting, such as:

Intelligence - People with ASD, typically test at or above-average IQ. They're very smart and capable of making valuable contributions in their workplace.

Expertise - People with ASD often zero in on an area of interest and develop deep expertise in that area. They are a sponge for any information and can provide near-encyclopedic knowledge about it. People with ASD frequently choose to work in their field of interest, making them a deep well of knowledge in their workplace. In industries such as IT, finance, research, engineering, manufacturing, that require workers to memorize or retain a lot of knowledge, processes, or procedures, this deep expertise can be a huge plus.

Soft skills - Though people with ASD, typically have less-refined social skills, they make up for it in many other areas. Common soft skills among those with ASD include the ability to deeply concentrate on a single task, reliability, and punctuality, persistence, accuracy, attention to detail, error spotting, and the ability to memorize or retain information.

Very factual - People with ASD tend to be very fact-driven and literal. They typically rely on facts and information, rather than emotions, to make decisions or direct their daily lives. This can make them ideally suited for roles that require objectivity.

Loyalty - People on the autism spectrum tend not to like change and thrive when they have a set routine. This means they're extremely loyal, including to their employer. If you treat them well and make reasonable accommodations for their needs and preferences they will be your most loyal and steadfast employees.

making your job descriptions and recruitment process more accessible

To make your hiring processes more accessible, you need to consider the perspective of neurodiverse candidates. What challenges do they face on a daily basis? What are common stumbling blocks they face? Then examine how you can remove these obstacles to make the hiring process more equitable for them. Often when you perform this exercise and make your hiring process more equitable, you make it stronger and more efficient for everyone, not just neurodiverse people. Here are a few first steps you can take to make your hiring process more accessible for candidates with ASD:

Be crystal clear about what the job entails.
People with ASD are often very detail and fact-oriented, they like to have as much information as possible. Provide as much information as you can about the job requirements and what their day-to-day will look like, as well as what will be expected from them. Providing info on KPIs and how their work will be assessed can also be helpful. Aim to include this information in your job descriptions and repeat it during interviews.

Explain what your work environment is like.
Their work environment is often very important to people who have ASD. They may have sensitivities to noise or stimuli in their direct area of work and prefer a quiet or more secluded workspace. They may not be well suited to noisy, open-concept environments. So being upfront about your work environment early on in the process can help weed out workplaces that will not be a good fit. Again, include this information in your job descriptions, and reference it during interviews.

Focus on essential skills in job descriptions.
When writing your job descriptions, focus on must-have skills. Providing a laundry list of nice-to-have skills under requirements can be confusing or overwhelming. People with ASD tend to be very literal. If you say something is a requirement, they will assume it is, and may pass over your opportunity if they don't have 100% of the requirements. As a general rule, taking a close look at what is truly required for the role is a good practice to ensure you reach a wide pool of qualified candidates.

Be clear and avoid jargon.
People with ASD often don't take well to jargon and business-speak. Try to avoid using business slang or terms that are not understood by an average person who works in the field. Be clear and speak in layman's terms as much as possible. Not only does this make your job descriptions more accessible to people with ASD, it's generally a smart practice to ensure your job descriptions are clear.

Provide details at each step of the process.
People with ASD tend to feel most comfortable in situations that are familiar and they know what to expect. This can make them very hesitant to approach new opportunities, such as a new job. To make the process more comfortable, provide detailed instructions and let candidates know what they can expect at each hiring and interview process. For instance, providing a list of interview questions that will be asked, instructions on how to reach your workplace, and what they should do upon arriving can all help make the process less overwhelming.

want more insights to make your workplace more accessible for neurodiverse people on the autism spectrum? check out part two of this series, which covers how to adapt your interview process to support people with ASD.

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Learn steps you can take to make your recruitment process more accessible for people on the autism spectrum.

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Research shows what great leaders already know: Recognition is fundamental to the engagement and retention of top talent and the profitability of our organizations. A recent study found that employees who reported that their managers were great at recognizing them were more than 40% more engaged than those with managers who were not. In addition, they were more confident, felt better informed, offered more discretionary effort, and were less likely to quit.

Although most great managers want to recognize their people, the challenge, which has only been made more difficult in the hybrid world, is finding meaningful things to recognize them for. This is why it is important for leaders to add a new technique to their management repertoire: Reflective recognition is an inquiry-based approach where an individual or group is invited to reflect on and share what they are proud of and why.

Having spent over a decade both researching and training leaders in effective employee recognition, I noticed that there are limitations to our typical approach to praise. We can only recognize what we see, observe, or learn about from others and our recognition focuses on what we appreciate, which is not always what others want to be appreciated for.

Take Alia, who at the time was a training manager for a large Middle Eastern restaurant chain. "My boss is great at recognizing me, but her praise is always focused on my organizational skills, which I know she values. I've spent the last six months designing, producing, and launching a new training initiative, and I wish she would recognize all the creativity and work I have put into that," she told me.

Like Alia, many employees want to be acknowledged for all the work they are doing that no one sees. The long hours, fielding difficult customer calls, navigating complex technical issues, moving mountains to meet deadlines, and doing it all on top of their lives outside of work.

And then there are the people on our teams that no matter how much they accomplish, how much we recognize them, they struggle slow down long enough to celebrate their progress, often driving them to burnout. If we want help our people stay present to the progress and make sure our people feel recognized for the things we don't see, reflective recognition will help with both.

Putting Reflective Recognition into Action

Reflective recognition gives you, the leader, a window into what matters most to another person while at the same time, helping employees get present to their own progress and accomplishments. What's more? When employees stop and reflect on their own achievements, how they've tackled challenges, and how they've made progress, it is great for engagement, too. Research shows that when we make progress towards goals that matter to us, we feel motivated to continue. In other words, reflecting on even small wins can motivate employees to get more done. The best part? It is extremely simple, requires no preparation, costs nothing, and makes a world of difference for both parties.

There are three steps in reflective recognition which, to the employee, is going to just look like a simple conversation.

Invite them to share.

The first step is to empower your employees to share what they are proud of and why. This doesn't need to happen as a separate, focused meeting. During your regular one-to-ones, or even when you bump into each other in the office, you could ask them a simple question.

We haven't spoken in a while, what have you been working on recently that you are proud of?

What do you want to be acknowledged for?

What are you working on that's exciting you?

What has been the hardest part of your job lately and how have you been navigating it?

Note that the first time you try this with your employee, don't be surprised if they look concerned or suspicious of why you are asking. They may be thinking, "Did you just attend leadership training or something?" But here's a way to mitigate those reactions. You could preface your question by saying, "I recently read an article that explained how we often don't see most of the work our people do every day and it got me thinking that I would love to learn more about what you're proud of that I don't see."

After you ask, some people will take your invitation to share and run with it, and tell you everything they have been doing, and more. Others might give you a standard, "I'm proud of being a good team player," "Everything I'm doing is exciting," or even shy away from saying anything.

And this is where the next step comes in.

Probe positively.

In her book, The Perfectionism Detox, author Petra Kolber shared that as humans, we have a tendency to minimize our accomplishments and maximize our shortcomings. As their leader, you can help people dig into their achievements and uncover together what it took for them to do what they did.

If they respond with "I don't know" try following up with questions that help them reflect on what they have done.

If they say, "I've been struggling with this new program for a month, but I just finally figured out X and we can finally get it off the ground. That's exciting!" use positive probing to draw their attention to their own effort and progress. Here are some probing questions you might ask:

How were you able to do what you did?

What did it take to make it happen?

What did you learn in the process?

As they are sharing - and they will likely reveal what is most important to them - listen for the barrier they overcame, the sacrifices they made, the struggles they worked through, to do all they did.

Reflect back.

After your employee has shared, it is time to reflect back on what you heard. Sometimes this can be as simple as "Thank you for all you have been doing, I had no idea you had worked through all that," or "Thank you for sharing, that is amazing."

Other times, maybe when you have not spoken in a long time, or notice your employee struggling, it is important to reflect back in more detail to show them you understand what they have been working on and amplify what they have done. You could say: "Alia, I knew the training program you put together was amazing, but I had no idea everything you had been doing behind the scenes to make this happen. From the curriculum design, to organizing the filming and editing of all the content, to the thought you put into rolling this out to all our stores is extraordinary. And doing all of this on top of your life outside of work. Thank you for everything you have been doing."

Reflective recognition is a simple way to empower your people to share what they are proud of and why. It's important to note that some people aren't used to talking about what they're proud of, so it may take some time for your team to warm up to the idea. But if you build it into each of your one-on-ones, and team meetings, people will start coming ready to share and, you may just build a culture of recognition and celebration where good work is validated, and employees feel valued.

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A Better Way to Recognize Your Employees

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Although most great managers want to recognize their people, the challenge, which has only been made more difficult in the hybrid world, is finding meaningful things to recognize them for.

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Rachel Worsley | 02/06/2020
Autistic leaders don't get the support that they need because of stigma. Rachel Worsley shares the latest research and her personal story of leadership.

In 2020, conversations around neurodiversity are still largely focused on employing and retaining autistic talent. But we don't hear much about the other end of the spectrum: the autistic leaders.

In July this year, UK board director Charlotte Valuer spoke out publicly about her autism diagnosis that she received three years ago and argued that company boards needed to prioritise neurodiversity. She had spoken out despite knowing that "I will not be able to go on certain boards because they know I'm autistic".

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has shown the need for great leadership to get through difficult times. But are we doing enough to support autistic leaders?

It's Tough to Be an Autistic Leader

A recent Dutch study provides a starting point for talking about autistic leadership. The researchers interviewed the autistic leaders and employees of a self-advocacy organisation known as Persons on the Autism Spectrum in the Netherlands, known as PAS, to discover their views about their role in society and in the workplace.

One of the key themes they examined was the topic of autistic leadership, and how that is perceived by autistic adults. "Adults with autism do not only want to be seen as persons with limitations and who need support but also as powerful persons who are capable of taking initiative, including setting up and managing an entire organization."

Given that PAS is run and led entirely by autistic people, there appears to be no barrier of potential discrimination by others who don't appreciate autistic strengths.

But the researchers actually found that autistic leaders and employees were very critical of each other's perceived leadership skills. For example, one person mentioned that some autistic leaders "either do not have emotional room for it or lack those skills". Another person said that it's harder for most autistic people to organise peer contact and displaying leadership in this space.

These are comments from autistic people about autistic people, not neurotypical people. So what is with the implied internalised ableism?

Everyone Struggles with Leadership Skills. Why Single Out Autism?

Autistic people can be good or bad leaders, just like we have good and bad neurotypical leaders. According to the researchers, autistic people are far more likely to miss out on opportunities to develop leadership skills early in life. We don't always put our hand up to be the school captain or to be the president of a university club. By the time we progress to leadership, it's unsurprising that we may not always find the right supports or enjoy the rewards of such leadership.

Interviewees who call themselves as "high-functioning" also grapple with the personal responsibility to act as a visible role model for other autistic people. They felt compelled to make autism visible instead of camouflaging or concealing the condition, to tackle negative stigma that autistic people are not capable of leadership.

Neurotypical leaders tend to reach a leadership function around the age of 40 following a traditional career path. But many autistic adults may want a leadership role at a different point in time because they need more time to develop those skills.

However, the corporate world often punishes such tardiness. By the time autistic adults consider taking on a leadership position, they are often excluded for being too old. If standard discrimination is bad enough, now you have to deal with the ageism on top of it.

What's the solution? The magic "E" word: education. Specifically, educational programs for employees, such as courses or personal development programs, that are flexible enough for autistic employees to develop leadership skills at their own pace.

How about that 'S' word - Support?

Because of a lack of education and understanding, many autistic leaders can struggle in leadership positions. It's even harder if you're a woman. I can speak from experience, as the founder and CEO of Neurodiversity Media.

Autistic people like me often struggle to ask for help. I've had negative experiences asking for help only to be dismissed, gaslit or invalidated because of communication misunderstandings. It is exhausting to learn how to ask for help the "neurotypical" way, so I would rather shut down and suffer alone.

If I do reach out, I would have progressed to such a terrible state of overwhelm that verbal communication is all but impossible and I can go into a meltdown that affects people around me. It is not great to look yourself in the mirror and feel ashamed that you might have an anger management problem.

Men, especially in tech startup land, often get away with violent outbursts or they are downplayed in the context of their perceived genius. Steve Jobs is a famous example. Women don't get the same leeway.

It's not just neurotypical judgement. Just like how the Dutch study highlighted leadership criticism between autistic people, I have not been immune from criticism from the neurodivergent community that I seek to help.

Like my recent efforts with managing burnout, I've had to step back, reflect and develop new strategies and systems to manage the day-to-day challenges of leadership in my work.

Good Leadership Begets Good Leadership

I've been incredibly blessed with two great leaders (in a mid-sized company and a small business) in my professional career who have been my role models for my leadership at Neurodiversity Media. Both of them did not know about my autism and ADHD at the time of working for them.

But they took an active interest in my professional development and gave me opportunities that helped me develop key skills to allow me to thrive in entrepreneurship. They always made sure they had time for one-on-one discussions about my work performance or anxieties, despite their busy schedules. They championed my strengths and were relatively forgiving of my weaknesses in my undiagnosed state at the time.

Would knowing about autism and ADHD have helped them manage me better? Knowledge empowers, after all. But my experience shows that both big and small workplaces can help neurodivergent professionals like myself succeed at work through the practice of good leadership skills.

At the time of managing me, both leaders had at least 20+ years of experience managing people in relatively stable workplaces. I've had less than two years in small business and startup, and I haven't even turned 30 years old. Despite having perfect role models of leadership, sadly I've had to make my own mistakes in my leadership journey.

True to the storytelling ethos of this business, however, I take comfort in the stories from other entrepreneurs in similar positions. So for all autistic leaders out there, let's figure out better ways to get the support and understanding we need to thrive as leaders. You are not alone.

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What Does Autistic Leadership Look Like in 2020? - Neurodiversity Media

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Rachel Worsley | 02/06/2020 Autistic leaders don't get the support that they need because of stigma. Rachel Worsley shares the latest research and her personal story of leadership. In 2020, conversations around neurodiversity are still largely focused on employing and retaining autistic talent.